Festival Of Distant Lands, Nearby People

Asia Event A Sampling Of Foods And Cultures

CORAL SPRINGS - — A Taste of Asia Festival this weekend aims to provide Broward County with a glimpse into the range of Asian cultures, cuisines and communities.

Asian-food lovers can sample everything from Indian curries to Japanese i-kyu noodles, from Vietnamese crab fritters to Chinese dim sum. Wash it all down with Fountain of Youth tea, ginseng and other herbs.

Asian folk dancers, martial artists and musicians will perform, and artists and calligraphers will show off their skills.

Event organizers want attendees to gain a better understanding of ethnic groups with which they may not regularly interact.

The festival was envisioned as "just a little taste, a little introduction to the various people in our community," said organizer Josephine Shih Gordy of Boca Raton. "So we get to know each other, so we wouldn't find each other strangers."

The event, to be presented Saturday and Sunday in Mullins Park, is sponsored by the Chinese American Benevolent Association, the Coral Springs Chinese Cultural Association and the city of Coral Springs.